


Kara's Drabbles

by Kara_Writes (Nunchi_Writes)



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I do not feel like making a giant wall of tags, No Sex, No Smut, i'm also asexual so I literally don't know how to write smut, nor do I have a real want/need to learn how lol, so I will be putting any warnings and such before each drabble/chapter, we're sfw here peoples!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17047082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nunchi_Writes/pseuds/Kara_Writes
Summary: Just a compilation of all the drabbles Kara has written.Each chapter is a different drabble





	1. Night Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongin x Reader
> 
>  
> 
> [ Warnings: (There's basically a lot of phobias in this one) Creepy Spiders, Blood, Gore, Creepy Dolls/Mannequins, and I think thats all worth mentioning? ]

   You regained consciousness on the smooth, cold ground with no recollection of how you ended up there. You open your eyes to more darkness and become aware enough to realize you’re loosely tied down to the floor. You sit up slowly, your muscles groaning and aching from being on the floor too long. You try standing up, but the chains around your wrists are a tad too short to stand comfortably. After a few minutes of struggling to find a comfortable way to position yourself, you finally decide on sitting down, legs folded underneath you and leaning on your hands which are behind you. It’s still too dark to see anything, so there’s no way of telling if there’s an escape right in front of you. All seems to be going fine, considering how bad things could be, until you hear a grunt a bit to you right. You whip your head to the sound and try your best to not move a single muscle.

   You hear it again, followed by some shuffling.

   Now you’re terrified. You attempt to force yourself to breathe slowly, but the effort slowly starts slipping away as you hear the groans of pain and shuffling growing nearer and nearer. In the distance of that same direction you hear an inhuman hiss, then a gasp almost directly next to you. You slightly jump at the sudden sound, causing the chains bound to you to jingle. Before you could curse at yourself mentally, you hear the mystery person gasp louder, then you felt something tug on your right wrist chain, then a thump. The voice groaned in pain once more, but this time it was clear enough to recognize. You gather every ounce of bravery you have left, which isn’t much, and call out to the man you think he is.

   “Jongin?” you almost whisper. It remains quiet for a few more moments.

   “Y/n?” Jongin finally replies, obviously less panicked than he was before.

   “Jongin. It is you.” you breathe out, only noticing now that you were holding your breath. “Do you have any idea where we are right now? How did you get out?”

   “I don’t know where we are, but my room had a candle, so I was able to see a key on the floor. There could be one in here too, help me feel around.”

   You didn’t bother to ask why there was a key in his room, you were too focused on getting somewhere safe. He eventually found your key against the wall and unlocked your chains. You finally stand up and stretch from being forced to sit on the ground for so long. Another hiss echoes through the hallway that Jongin came from. He didn’t hesitate to grab your arm and pull you closer to him protectively before leading you to the nearest wall. You couldn’t get one word of confusion out before you started to hear tapping, like a few people walking towards you with socks on; that was enough to keep you quiet. The tapping got closer and closer, until it stopped. Then another hiss sounded, but this time louder than the last few times. You grip onto Jongin’s shirt to pull yourself closer to him-

   “Run!” He shouted, grabbing your wrist and sprinting blindly in the darkness. The stomping followed close behind you and was creeping closer.

   “What is that thing!?” you shout to him while trying to keep up with his pace.

   “You’ll see in a couple of seconds!” He rounded a corner, revealing an indoor garden lit by moonlight and torches. He leads you there and grabs a torch off the wall by the doorway and throws it at…

   “A giant spider!?” you squeal. “Are you kidding me right now!?”

   “I woke up with this thing hovering near me! How do you think  _I_  feel?” He yelled, matching your disgusted and frightful tone.

   He grabbed the second torch and threw it after aiming more carefully. The hair on the spider’s legs caught on fire, making it frantically dart past the both of you and into the garden. The fire grew around the spider as it hissed and squirmed; the smell of burning hair and skin coating the air around you. The spider finally stopped and laid still while the fire consumed it. The fire didn’t stop there, though, it spread to the shrubs coated in flowers which allowed it to consume the trees. You’re about to return to Jongin from where you ran out of the spider’s way when you hear a loud pop; the sound of the giant spider exploding. You jerk your head towards it and see hundreds of little spiders crawling out of it.

   With a shriek you run over to Jongin. The two of you head for the exit and flaming tree starts crumbling your way. You both easily take a step or two backwards to easily avoid it as it wouldn’t have been possible to make it safely to the other side. You feel something on your leg and frantically kick off the spider that clung onto your foot. You run around the edge of the garden by the walls in an attempt to get to the other door while avoiding the spiders and the fire, but it only makes it easier for the the pests to swarm you since you now only have one direction to go. They began to crawl up yours and Jongin’s legs. This is when you finally gave up sneaking along the wall and bursted into a sprint through the spiders and the smaller flames. You made it to the other door and shut it behind you, then hastily killed every spider latched on your bodies.

   You were the first to look around your surroundings, and you did not like this area any more than the last.

   “Jongin…” you whispered a plea, still slightly out of breath from the adrenaline. He looked up to acknowledge you after killing the last arachnid.

   “Wha-” He stopped himself from asking ‘what’s wrong’, when it was obvious what the problem was.

   This area was covered in blood. It didn’t help any that it also resembled a hospital of some kind. There were operating tables and beds lined up with sharp tools on the side tables in between each laying surface. Curtains, or what was left of them, lined each bed while the operating tables were out in the open. The room was covered in a dim, yellow glow from the old overhead light. It was the only light source in the room, so it casted ominous shadows around the room. The entire room was filled with a putrid stench, and you realized why when you finally took a few steps into the room. Just behind the curtain closest to you, was a large pile of body parts at different stages in the decaying stages. Some were only bones, while others were fresh; most, though, were in the middle of the process and causing the horrific smell.

   You probably would have vomited right then and there if there wasn’t a person cackling towards to other end of the room. Both of you immediately ducked under one of the broken beds that was lower to the ground. It was a tight squeeze, but you made it work. Footsteps echo through the room, then a pair of feet finally came into view, and a shrill voice called out into the room. Jongin was covering both your and his mouth, keeping you silent at the crazy man screeched nonsense. He turned to an operating table and lifted up the stained sheet over the lump on it to reveal a mutilated woman. He wheeled the table into an area that was blocked by a curtain and you used this opportunity to get to the other doorway as silently and quickly as possible. Thankfully, the crazy murderer was too busy talking nonsense to himself that he didn’t hear when you slipped on a patch of blood. You struggled to not yelp when you felt a sudden sharp pain in your leg as you shifted to pick yourself up.

   Jongin pulled you through to the next door himself, shutting it behind you and locking it. This room looks much cozier than the rest of the rooms. It’s dark walls and clean red carpet and trimmings lit by candles and a fireplace. The furniture was just as clean and looked rather expensive and cozy. There were bookshelves that lined the walls, all filled completely with books. You take off your shoes and take a few steps into this calming room, letting your feet sink into the soft carpet. You turn and see your partner decided to follow your actions and is now wiggling his toes in the carpet. Your lips slightly twitch upward at that as you limp towards the couch in front of the fireplace to inspect the cut you got from slipping. You don’t know what’s going on or what kind of logic this place follows, but you’re content with this new, calmer atmosphere. Your partner walks over to join you on the couch.

 **“You’re bleeding all over my carpet!”**  a high-pitched voice shouts at you. “You’ll regret ruining our belongings!”

   As soon as she finished her statements, the candles were blown out, though you could still see small figures darting around the room. You cling onto Jongin and the candles light back up, once again giving you a clear view of the room. It was covered in dolls and mannequins. There were no longer any books on the shelves, they were replaced by a vast amount of creepy, unsettling dolls. There were some that were porcelain, others that were normal baby dolls, some stuffed or sewn. The path you and Jongin have to take to escape was lined with mannequins, some brand new while other crippled and rotting. Every figure had their eyes closed and were in a relaxed position, as inanimate objects should be. The two of you simultaneously stand up to creep out of the room, causing the couch to creak. Every doll and mannequin head in the room snapped to your direction with red glowing eyes. The only reason you didn’t let out a squeak is because Jongin clamped his hand over your mouth once again.

   The two of you wait a minute or two in complete silence, then decide to shift slowly towards the door. As you silently move, the dolls’ and mannequins’ heads and eyes stay focused to where you made the couch creak. Jongin made the mistake of stepping on a creaky board, making the hundreds of heads snap directly at you two again. You flinch and lightly graze your foot against the base of a new mannequin, which screeches in response. All at once the figures deafeningly screech back and hastily crawl and run to your direction. With a pair of screams, both of you sprint towards the door. The figurines had a different plan for you and blocked the door. All of the dolls and mannequins were coming from every direction and backing you into a wall, or rather, one of many bookshelves.

   With every red, glowing eye glaring in your direction, you grab the edge of the bookshelf right next to where you’re standing and pull it down. It crushes a good amount of them. Jongin caught on to your plan rather quickly and pulled down the shelf on the other side, crushing more of the demonic things. Both of you pull down the one you were just in front of together, leaving most of  the fragile things shattered and torn. You grip each other’s hands and sprint to the door, which is thankfully unlocked and happened lead outside. He slams the door shut and locks it, then slides down it and slumps against the door on the ground.

   At this point, you are covered in spider guts and rotten blood and have a cut down your leg. You’ve almost died three times tonight, saved twice by Jongin and once by the luck that those bookshelves weren’t securely screwed to the walls. You curl into a ball on the ground and squeeze your eyes shut to try to stop the tears you can feel burning in them. Your partner crawls over to you and pulls you into a tight embrace.

 **“Shh, you’re safe. I won’t let you go.”**  he whispered sweetly in your ear. If only you could believe him; believe that everything was going to be okay and that you weren’t going insane. You pull away a bit, open your eyes, and shift your gaze higher to look Jongin in the eye, but instead your attention turns to a black silhouette with an axe raised above its head behind your partner.

   “Jongin! Behind you!” You yell while getting up to move. He whips around just at the figure swings his weapon down and-

   You wake up. You’re in your own bed, in your own room. You’re still lightly panting and sweating as you process what’s going. A familiar figure pulls you into a hug and presses your body against his comfortingly. You didn’t realize you were crying until you feel Jongin’s shirt become slightly damp around your eyes and cheeks. You hug him back tightly, grateful that horrible experience was over.

 **“Shh, it was just a bad dream. Just a dream, okay? None of it was real.”**  he whispers calmly in your ear. “I woke you up because you were squirming and whimpering in your sleep. But it’s all okay now. It’s okay.”

   You eventually calm down in his arms and he goes back to sleep. You, on the other hand, are too shaken from that dream to fall back asleep, so you listen to Jongin’s rhythmic heartbeat and breathing until the sun comes up.


	2. Not All Heroes Wear Capes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol x Reader
> 
>  
> 
> [ Warning: Cat Calling, Attempted rape (nothing really happens it's okay guys), Swearing, Implied Violence ]

   You’re walking home from a party your friend dragged you to one night, which you knew all too well was a horrible idea from the start. Although, it was either stay there where all the drunk and high people kept getting too close for comfort, or brave the town after sundown. Besides, what are the chances of someone choosing to kidnap you?  _Crap, no wood to knock on to undo the jinx_ , you think with an uneasy chuckle. As immature as it may be, that thought alone was enough to get you rushing to get home faster.

   After around fifteen minutes of walking, you find yourself traveling along a road lined with small shops, signaling you were nearing your apartment complex. You can’t help but notice four men laughing together outside a pub, obviously drunk with how their words were slurred and how uncoordinated they were. At this point, it was either continue walking and hope they ignore you, or go down a dark alleyway, both of which were horrible options in the movies. With your mind going back to when you couldn’t knock on wood, you decide to continue walking and that you can just slip into one of the 24 hour places if they try something.

   With your head down and hands in your pockets, you try to speedily walk forward without calling any attention to yourself. In the end, it didn’t make a difference since you were the only other person in the area, besides the men.

   “Hey baby, where you goin’?” one of them slurred out. You kept repeating  _Stay calm_ ,  _keep walking_ , and  _oh God_  as you ignored him completely and tried to continue on your way.

   “Hey, he was talking to you.” one of the other four shouted. Now your hands are shaking in your pockets and your breathing becomes more jagged. You hope they would assume you had earbuds in, which could go one of two ways you quickly realized. Only a few more yards before the first open shop, until freedom. A hand on your shoulder rips any hopes of it away immediately, though.

   “What part of ‘he was talking to ya’ do you not understand pretty lady?” a voice behind you slurred out. You slowly turn around after shrugging off the hand, making sure you keep the new threats in view now that they were much too close for comfort.

   “Good girl,” the tallest one smiled creepily, “Now, where you you going this late at night?”

   “Nowhere.” you blurt out without much thought due to the panic rising in you. You take half a step back, only to be stopped again by the same guy as before.

   Now the shortest one speaks up, “Nowhere? Well then, would you like to go somewhere instead, then?” They all chuckle, just like in the movies, you think to yourself. You keep silent as you shake your head side to side.

   “No?” the last man pipes up, walking closer to where you are now pinning yourself against a shop’s walls.

   “Well that’s a shame then, sweetheart.” the man holding your arm practically growls, “Are you sure?”

   “Leave me alone, please.” you manage to squeeze out while tears form in your eyes.

   “Aw, lookit her, all riled up an’ cryin’” they, once again, all laugh again like it was some kind of joke.

   The tall one was the first to speak after their laughing fit, “C’mon doll, you should get loose, stop being so tense. Let’s go have fun.” The one holding onto your arm starts tugging you away from the shop’s light, and with a certain bravery fueled by panic, you start to fight back.

   “Let me go! Leave me alone!” you yell, desperately trying to rip your arm out of the stranger’s grip, which only tightens painfully in response.

   “You better keep it down, bitch. We’re doin’ ya a favor. Now shut it!” the short one ordered. You didn’t want to go down that easily, but there weren’t many options left with the death grip the man has on your arm. A single thought sparked more resistance though,  _if I scream loud enough, will the owner of that place hear me and help?_

   “I said to leave me alone! Someone Help! Please! Anybo-” a gloved hand clamped over your mouth, muffling anything else.

   “We said to shut the fuck up! We aren’t playin’ nice anymore after that stunt.” the last man growled out. Your vision is blurry from tears, legs weak and hands shaking from panic, these are some of the reasons you almost gave up hope on fighting back.

   “Hey! What are you doing with her? Let her go!” a low voice yelled out from behind you. You can’t help but think,  _Oh thank God._  They all laughed, yet again.

   “She’s coming with us to have some fun, no worries, right?”

   “I said,” that low, threatening voice was much closer now, “Let. Her. Go.”

   “What are you going to do if we refuse, hm?”

   “He’ll probably run home to mommy to tell on us!” the one holding you said too loudly near your ear. They started laughing again, but it was immediately cut short by the sound of someone getting punched. The painful grip on your arm loosened up while a more gentle grip on your other one practically dragged you away.

   “What the hell!?”

   “Fucking grab him!”

   Your rather tall savior pulls you into the shop and swiftly turns around to pull down the metal door on the outside used to protect the windows from robbers. He dashes over to push a red button on a wall, locking the door he just closed. You huddle up against the wall and hug your knees to your chest in an attempt to stop crying and hyperventilating.

   “Are you alright? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?” You slightly jump and whip your head to the sound of the man’s low voice, then let it soothe you into relaxing a bit. You weakly shook your head “no” in response to the man, who had fluffy, pink and purple hair?

   “That’s good, at least, My name’s Chanyeol, what’s yours?” he asked. You were about to answer when was a loud bang on the metal door echoed through the shop, followed by a muffled voice or two. You curled back up into a ball tightly, tears threatening to spill once again.

 **“Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t get to you anymore.”**  Chanyeol tried to soothe you. He sat on the ground and cautiously put an arm around your shoulders in an obvious attempt to help you relax. The only thing it did, though, was make you start crying again from the aftershock of tonight’s events. Chanyeol offered a hug to you, just as cautiously as before, to which you accepted and muffled your cries with his hoodie. You eventually calmed down, and all of a sudden sitting on the ground hugging this cotton-candy haired stranger seemed like not as smart of an idea, especially with what just happened.

   “I’m sorry, it’s really weird to just hug a stranger, isn’t it?” you forced out a weak chuckle, pulling away from him while wiping your face.

   “Not as much as it should be in this case.” he gave a seemingly genuine chuckle, then added with a kind smile, “I never got your name?” You told him your name and he immediately continued his thought as he stood up. “Do you need me to walk you home, y/n? Just in case those disgusting men are still out there? I was getting ready to close up shop anyway.” he gestured to his outfit, which consisted of a dark hoodie and jeans.

   You thought about it for a moment. Is it really a smart idea to allow this considering what just happened to you? Although, he did save you and has been nothing but kind. Plus, when you look into his dark brown gaze, you see he doesn’t have any ulterior motives, as cheesy as it is. You finally nodded a “yes” to him and stood up, getting yourself off the ground. 

   Chanyeol voiced an acknowledgement and went to unlock the door and turn off the power while you brushed yourself off. He opened the door halfway and checked outside before telling you it was safe. You exited and he locked up the shop yet again. You two chatted a bit and quickly got along while he walked you to your apartment building, which came into view too soon. You two exchanged phone numbers on the porch, then went your separate ways with a hug and a promise to meet up again soon.


	3. I Want You Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junmyeon x Reader
> 
>  
> 
> [ Angst Alert!! ~~sorry not sorry~~ ]

   If only things could have ended differently, then Suho would still be here by your side. If only you could have convinced him to not leave you that day, or gave him more of a reason to stay. Now all you have left of him are the bittersweet memories that go on a seemingly endless loop, since everything seems to remind you of him, especially today.

_You were taking a calming stroll with Suho in the nearby nature park, hand in hand. He suddenly stopped, causing you to look up at him in confusion. He glanced around before settling on a direction._

_“Just follow me this way and try not to panic.”_

_You freeze completely and your eyes go wide, “What?”_

_He starts to gently pull you when you wouldn’t move on your own, “There might be a certain thing that’s now behind us that you don’t like…” noticing your slightly panicked reaction, he quickly added, “But it’s okay! Don’t worry, it’s far from us now!” He glanced behind his shoulder before whipping his head forward again and providing you with a nervous laugh._

_You darted forward to get away from whatever was behind you, gripping his hand and practically dragging him along. The two of you had to stop eventually, though, since you didn’t have infinite stamina. You were preparing to sprint again, knowing the two rules in horror films was to never look back and never stop. Suho grabbed your arm and pulled you into a tight embrace just before you were going to dash again._

_**“Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t get to you anymore.”**  he calmingly whispered in your ear, “I’m pretty positive they’re far from us _now _.” You both chuckled lightly as he put his hands on your shoulders, holding you at arms-length for a few seconds before reclaiming your hand and guiding you home safely._

   Those were the best times for you; that happened almost three years ago now. He always knew exactly what to do when you got frightened or anxious. If only Suho were here now, you think to yourself. There used to be a time, just a year and a day ago in fact, where he was only a call or text away, sometimes even just a holler and he’d come through your door with that award winning smile.

_“Suho!” you called out._

_“What is it?” his voice and footsteps get progressively closer, “What’s wrong, Jagi?” He says as he appears in your doorway with that perfect small smile._

_“I saw something outside the window and it was giving me a bad feeling.”_

_“Alright, I can go check it out if you’d like?” he asked while gently cupping his hand on your cheek. You leaned into the touch slightly and gave a small nod. He smiled and nodded back, then left the room. You heard the front door open and close, then silence. There was nothing except the deafening silence that coated the entire house for what seemed like an eternity._ Did something happen to him _, you think to yourself. As if on queue, the front door opened and closed again, then some shuffling. Suho reappeared in your doorway with a gentle smile and sat next to you on the bed. You didn’t even realize you were tearing up until he cupped your face and used his thumbs to wipe the drop or two that escaped._

_“I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, except for a few raccoons.” he calmly informed. You acknowledged him with a nod, not trusting your voice. He gently pulled you into a tight and comforting embrace. **“Shh, you’re safe, I won’t let you go.”**  he cooed, misunderstanding that you were tearing up over your own safety in that moment, but it helped just as much knowing he wasn’t going to get hurt._

   In the end, he did let go; exactly a year ago, in fact. It wasn’t his choice, though. There was no way he could’ve asked for that drunk driver to hit him; there’s no way he would have voluntarily left you in that way. Now that he isn’t here, though, you haven’t quite safe either. Not from anything tangible, not that you know of, anyways. You aren’t safe from your own thoughts anymore, it seems. You’ve tried moving on, you understand that no amount of grief can bring your sunshine back. Although, it’s harder than it looks. You’ve learned how to be happy again in this past year, but now that you’ve had a taste of something better, there’s an emptiness in your heart you don’t quite know how to fill.

   You get up and wipe the unwarranted tears off your cheeks as you trudge to the kitchen for a drink. You decide that water would have to do after seeing a rather empty fridge and make a mental note to go grocery shopping soon. You fill your cup, then plop yourself down onto your couch. With a shaky exhale, you pull your cup up to your mouth and take a drink, only to drop it in complete shock a second later. Standing right there in front of you, with that smile he always wore, was none other than Suho. Although, he was slightly see-through and had beautiful white wings, but there was no way your eyes were mistaking you. His smile widens as he gracefully takes a step forward and kneels down your level. He cups your face gently, just like how he used to, the warmth that radiated from his hands surprising you, but you lean into it almost immediately.

   He then spoke with that beautiful voice you thought you’d never hear again,  **“Hey, I know you’re hurting… but, you’re not alone, okay?”**  Your tears fall faster down your face as he gives up wiping them away with his thumbs. “There are others who are in pain too, because if you’re hurting, then I’m hurting too.” he takes a small breath, “And don’t try to bottle it up anymore, we both know it only makes it worse in the long-run. Please try and find real happiness again, for me? I love you, so so much, Jagi. I wish only the best for you.”

   With that, he leans in and gives you a light kiss to your forehead. All at once, the warmth dissipates and you realized you closed your eyes. You shoot them open in hopes of getting one last glance at him, only to be met with nothing; there’s not one thing that even hinted he was there to begin with. You decide, while sobbing on your couch, to try and find a way to at least make the void in your heart more manageable, if not just for yourself, then for Suho.


	4. A Good Conversation Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyungsoo x Reader

   “It was  _so_  good though! You’re gonna have to get it next time!” you tell Kyungsoo, who shakes his head in response.

   “I could’ve tried some this time, but  _somebody_  didn’t want to share any of their dish with me. Rude.” he teases.

   It’s late in the afternoon, and you’re walking down the sidewalk with your boyfriend and housemate, Kyungsoo. You two are walking after a date at a nearby diner and are almost home, but are still caught up in talking about the food there.

   “It’s not my fault the food was so good I didn’t want to share! It doesn’t help that I forgot to eat lunch today.”

   “Then maybe you should have eaten lunch!” Kyungsoo ends the sentence with a light laugh.

   “Maybe I should have!” you mock offense, laughing along with him.

   The conversation finally ends as you make it to your house. It’s a small house in a nice neighborhood that the two of you somehow found within your price range. The entire front half of the property, along with everyone else’s, is surrounded by rot iron fencing to help keep burglars from climbing over and into the yards. The backside of your property, on the other hand, only has a tall, brick wall, but it also has higher security back there in the form of more alarms and cameras, which you bought and placed yourselves.

    Now that you think about it, the crime rate in your area is probably how you found this cute house in your rather low price range.

   Kyungsoo stops to grab the keys for the front gate’s lock. You stand there smiling, ready to go inside and watch a movie and cuddle with your partner. You won’t admit it to him, but today’s events has had you tuckered out. You worked harder than usual at work today, and you had some last-minute college assignments that needed to be completed and turned in last night by midnight. You needed this relaxing date night more than you thought you did. Your smile fades, though, after a few minutes of watching Kyungsoo dig through his pockets and coming up empty-handed.

   “Do you not have the keys?” you ask, concerned more than anything.

   “I thought I did. I swear I grabbed them off the counter…”

   You quickly go through your pockets and bag in case you somehow grabbed them. Disappointingly, they are nowhere to be seen.

   “Is it possible that they were left at the diner? Did you take them out of your pockets at all?”

   “I took out my wallet, and they might have fallen out then.” He sighs, “But even if they were somehow still there, by the time we made our way back, the diner would have been closed for ten minutes or so.”

   “Dang it.” you hiss.

   “Yeah.” he sighs in agreement.

   “So, let’s go through our options.” you begin, “Squeezing through the bars is impossible. Climbing over is dangerous and would set off the alarm. I don’t even want to try to get in through the backyard.”

   “I wonder if I could squeeze my arm through the bars and get the hatch?” 

   “If it were that simple, more people would probably try to break in, I think.”

   “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

   “It might,” you joke, “you never know.”

   Kyungsoo gives you a sarcastic laugh as a response and rolls his sleeve up dramatically. He then slips his arm through the bars and tries to reach the latch to open the gate from where is arm is. He tries for what seems like hours before he seemingly gives up. He must have not given up completely, though, because he is still reaching through the gaps in the fence. Unless…

    **“Are you stuck?”**

    **”…no.”**

   “Are you serious?” It takes a lot more strength than you’re willing to admit to keep yourself from laughing hysterically, because you just  _knew_  this would happen.

   “Shut up. I’ve got this.”

   Yet, as determined as Kyungsoo sounded when he said it, he definitely did  _not_  “got this”.

   He begins by trying to shimmy his arm up and down in an attempt to loosen the bars’ hold on it, but all it did is make his arm turn a bit red from the friction and the roughness of the iron fence. Then he tries twisting his arm, which he immediately realizes is a mistake when his arm doesn’t want to bend the right way, and makes the burn on his arm slightly worse. He even tries putting his own spit on his arm as some kind of lubricant, even after your face contort into a cringe and ask him to just give up. This is when you decide to step in.

   “Okay, so I’m going to go grab a rock and see if I can’t bend the bars a bit. Or maybe the vibrations from me hitting them will do something. I don’t think that will set off the security alarms, anyway… They need to actually break, or the lock itself needs to be damaged, right?” You begin to walk away to find a good-sized rock, and don’t have to walk very far to find one. There’s one sitting on the edge of your neighbors yard, just on the edge of the sidewalk.

   “Are you sure it won’t?” Kyungsoo asks, skeptical, “I don’t want to wake anyone around here up. They’re all old people, and I know that old people like their sleep a lot. Remember that one time with Ms. Elaine?”

   “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Okay, just try not to move.”

   You lift the rock up and swing it to the side as hard as you can to try to bend the metal. It doesn’t work. You try again once more, then again, then one more time before you give up.

    **“Was that really the worst you could do? Pitiful.”**  He tries and fails to hide his laugh as he continues, “I don’t even know why I was worried about you setting off the alarm.”

   “Hush your mouth.” you manage between breaths, “That rock was heavy and I didn’t want to accidentally hurt you. I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Let’s just take a minute to think.”

   “Well, my arm’s starting to go all tingly, so we should probably hurry up with the thinking, yea?” Kyungsoo starts yanking at his arm once more in a desperate attempt to free his arm.

   “Woah woah woah! Kyungsoo! Don’t hurt yourself!” You rush to put you hand on his shoulders, effectively stilling him, even though you applied almost no pressure.

   “I don’t want to end up like that dude who had to cut his own arm off because it got crushed under a boulder. I quite like my arm.” His poorly hidden smile lets you know that he is at least partially joking when he says this, and you can’t help but crack a smile yourself.

   “I promise you, you won’t end up like him. But we should still try to find a way to get you out. Now are you gonna-”

   “What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” an older man’s voice calls out from your right.

   “Mr. Hendrikson! Hello! It’s just us! We just locked ourselves out of our property by mistake. Did we disturb you? I know that all of these walls are paper thin.”

   Mr. Hendrikson is your next door neighbor. He’s a sweet, joyful man in his 80s who lives with his wife, two dogs, and a cat. You’ve heard that he owns a parrot too, and it wouldn’t surprise you if he did; the old couple adore animals. You know them best out of all of your neighbors, because whenever he and his wife have too many leftovers to fit in their fridge, they offer some of the fresher foods to you, knowing neither of you will ever turn down free food. It’s also a well-known fact on the block that the couple makes the best bread anyone has ever had, and even know how to make Gluten-free bread. They’ve been told to open a bakery, and have admitted to considering it, but they have yet to actually do it.

   “They aren’t that thin, hun. I just saw two figures loligaggin’ ‘round your place and took action.” He’s lowered his voice now, since he isn’t as far as before.

   “You don’t happen to have some way to get my arm out of here, do you?” Kyungsoo interrupts you before you could thank him for trying to protect your place in your absences.

   “What on earth did you do to get stuck like that, son?”

   “He thought it would be smart to try to get the latch on the inside by sticking his arm through the gap.” you answer for your boyfriend.

   “Well if it were that easy, I’m sure the fences and gates would have been updated by now, with the horrendous crime rate in the area!” laughs the old man.

   “That’s what I told him!” you chuckle along.

   “Well then, I got plenty of oil and butter stashed in the house that might work. I’m sure Mariane wouldn’t mind me using some of it for a noble cause. I’ll be right back, you two, just hang tight.”

   “I’ll be right here when you get back!” jokes Kyungsoo, earning a small chuckle from the retreating figure. You wait until he’s inside his house to make a comment.

   “Well that was rather convenient.”

   “Let’s not speak too soon. This may not even work.” You can hear the teasing smile in his voice.

   “I don’t see why it wouldn’t. You got your arm in there easily enough. Some oil and butter should work much better than your spit, anyway.”

   “Hey, there was an attempt.”

   “There sure was, alright.”

   You and Kyungsoo only need to wait a few minutes before Mr. Hendrikson comes back with a bottle of oil, just as promised. He greets you guys once more as he pours the contents of the green bottle all over Kyungsoo’s arm, with the young man cringing because it’s getting on his nice shirt. You won’t say it out loud, but you’re glad it has oil all over the one sleeve now, you never really liked that shirt to begin with.

   The oil works like a charm. With a little shimmy and a hefty pull, your boyfriend is free, and is shaking and rubbing the feeling back into his arm. Mr. Hendrikson offers to let you use his ladder to climb the wall separating your backyards, so you can make it inside the house to notify who you need to about the missing keys and the false alarm trigger. You accept and thank him probably too many times while he grabs the ladder and sets it up for you. For an 80 year old, he’s rather fit and active, being able to easily lift a large, metal ladder and set it up with ease while refusing any help from the two of you.

   You clumsily make your way over the tall, brick wall, and land in your yard with a thump, almost falling on your face in the process. Kyungsoo follows behind you much more gracefully, landing perfectly on his feet. With one more “thank you” called over the wall to your favourite neighbor, you sprint into your house to call about the false warning.

   The first thing you both do after you call to report your missing keys, and take care of the mess that came with the alarm system, is take a shower. Kyungsoo is half-covered in oil, and you’re half-covered in dirt from the stumbling you did after you landed in your yard. Once you were both clean and warm, you do exactly what you’ve wanted to since you caught sight of your gate, you crawled into bed and snuggled up against your partner. The last thing you remember thinking before succumbing to sleep, is that this should make for an interesting conversation piece.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyungsoo x Reader
> 
>  
> 
> [ (Mild Angst again, ~~sorry~~ ) Warnings: Swearing, Argument/Fight ]

   “Kyungsoo!” you call, anger hinting in your voice.

   “What?” you hear from the living room.

   “Why is the toilet paper roll flipped the wrong way?  _Again_.”

   “Have you ever thought that maybe your way is the wrong way? Why would you keep it turned like that? What purpose does it serve?” he retorts.

   You can already sense the tension growing between you two once more. This isn’t the first time you and your new husband have fought over the smallest things, so you know that the two of you will come to a conclusion and that will be the end of it. It’s a system that has worked so far.

   “It’s much more convenient and easy way of grabbing it. What’s the purpose to  _your_  way?”

   “Oh my god,” he sighs, “are we actually going to have a fight over this?”

   “See? You can’t even come up with a good reason!”

   “Oh, I can come up with plenty of reasons, but just like every time we fight, you’re going to immediately shoot my validations down.”

   You stomp over to the living room to speak with your husband face-to-face while you continue, “Don’t say that like you don’t do the same thing.”

   “I don’t!”

   “Yes you do! You do it more often than I do!”

   “Oh really? When? When do I ever ignore your reasoning?” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.

   “When I request movies-”

   “Not my fault your taste in movies suck-”

   “Dinner options-”

   “You literally don’t know what good food is-”

   “Nearly every argument we have-”

   “That’s just a lie-”

   “You’re doing it right now!” you raise your voice to a shout in attempts to get him to listen. You don’t usually yell or get this caught up in a fight.

   “I am not!”

   “Yes you are! You asked me to tell you all of the times you’ve ignored me and now you are ignoring me and only defending yourself!”

   He stands up quickly to match your height as he yells, “I listen to you!”

   “Only to respond!”

   “Is that not what the definition of a conversation is!? To respond?”

   “You need to consider the other person’s words when conversing. This is just you denying every single thing I’m claiming, which is exactly what I’m talking about!!”

   “Well maybe you’re the one not listening! I may not like your movie and food choices, but I’m still kind enough to still eat with you! I don’t get a separate meal than you or sit on my phone during a movie just because I don’t like it! Yet you expect me to stop eating my favorite foods and watching my favorite movies until I’m home alone, which isn’t often already!!”

   “I can hear your annoying shows and movies loud and clear through the walls! And your ‘favorite foods’ stink up the entire place!”

   “And yours don’t!? Really!?” Kyungsoo raises his voice to a loud yell, “You have no consideration for me! I tolerate all of your weird habits and yet  _I_  have to completely erase mine!? I should make you stop eating your ridiculous meals! And do you know how fucking tired I am of sitting through that drama! Every episode has the same dull plot! And it’s so fucking obvious that he’s going to dump her and go for the blonde in the end! I even checked Wikipedia and I’m right!”

   “Then why the fuck would you tell me that!? You know how much I love that show!” you practically scream.

   “Maybe now you’ll only watch it in your free time like I have to with mine! Maybe you won’t stink up the house with  _your_  foods! Won’t throw your goddamned clothes on the floor and leave them, won’t leave unrinsed dishes in the sink to get moldy for me to clean! How about the way you hog all of the space and blankets in bed and practically kick me out of it by morning? Or how you-”

   “You’re not perfect either, you know!!” you yell over him. You’ve had enough of this. “You always put things away in the wrong place, and forget important meetings and appointments so  _I_  have to remember them for you, which is a pain in the ass! You always do the laundry wrong and shrink my clothes, and you talk so fucking loudly on the phone! And you’re on the phone a lot! I could go on, you know! You can be irritating!”

   “ _I_  can be irritating!? Did you not hear what I said? Are you not going to own up to all of that? Or are you going to pretend that didn’t happen as well!?”

   “That is something  _you_  do too! Do you not have ears!? Whether you like it or not, we are married and we’re going to have to make compromises!”

   “You hardly make any compromises in this fucking household! If I knew it was going to be like this, I may have not asked you to marry me in the first place!”

   That… hurt. It must show somewhere too, because Kyungsoo is quick to calm down and has the nerve to look apologetic, like always. You didn’t realize how loud it was in your apartment until the deafening silence that coats the space between you two now. You’re probably going to have a few noise complaints from that. You don’t know how you got here, but you’re now standing in the middle of the living area and Kyungsoo is standing several feet in front of you, near your small kitchen. You can see how his chest is heaving from the energy of waving his hands around and the tension from the fight itself.

   He still looks apologetic and regretful, but it’s been silent for a few minutes now. He occasionally opens his mouth, but still no apology leaves it and he ends up shutting it once more. You feel the sudden urge to leave the apartment, so that’s exactly what you decide to do.

   With a small shake of your head, paired with a pained expression on your face, you back up and turn towards the shoe rack by the door. You’re happy that you have your phone and headphones in your pocket from earlier still, because you wouldn’t have gone back to your shared room to grab them, otherwise.

   “Look- Y/n- I’m-”

    **”Don’t”**  Your hand grips on the door knob tightly.

    **“But-”**

 **“ _Don’t_ ”** is all you say before opening the front door, then slamming it behind you.

   You don’t know what to feel. You don’t want him to follow after you, because you don’t want to see or hear him right now, and want some privacy to cool down. Yet, you do want him to come out and chase after you because that would show he still cares a great deal about you, and didn’t really mean what he said at all. You feel angry at him as an after effect from the fight, yet you grieve because every single one of his arguments were right.

   You do make him avoid everything you don’t like, yet force him into doing things he doesn’t like, but it’s not like he ever put up a real fight. If he had, you would have stopped making him watch your shows, and could have had night where you both eat the foods the other despises. There are a lot of things you could have done better. You won’t ask him to change anymore, and you doubt he’ll do the same to you at this point, so you’re going to try to make it so you can both have what you prefer. You step out into the brisk, autumn air, huddling into to the jacket you don’t remember grabbing as you make your way down to a local store to buy a few things.

   Kyungsoo doesn’t chase after you.

* * *

 

   You struggle to open the door with the amount of bags you’re carrying. Granted, you’re only carrying three, but frozen foods can get heavy after a long walk, especially when you’re carrying a metal toilet paper dispenser in one hand as well. Once you got the door open, which was thankfully still unlocked, you made your way to the kitchen, where you dumped his disgusting brand of food he loves so much, along with a few foods that you know he won’t eat, but you enjoy.

   On your way back to the bathroom, you put two movie cases on the empty slots on the shelf, then continue on to place the toilet paper dispenser next to the toilet. You’ve been needing somewhere to officially put your small piles of rolls, anyway, which is why you decided to go with a dispenser that had a built in storage place for them. You hook up the roll, flipped the way you like it, and begin putting the rest away in the little holder.

   “Y/n?” Kyungsoo’s hushed voice rings tentatively from down the hallway.

   “In the bathroom. Come here please?” you sweetly ask, trying to sound happy and inviting to help avoid any more possible conflict.

   You finish the toilet paper situation just as you hear shuffling behind you, then a quiet sniff. You spin around and are met with Kyungsoo, cautiously hanging back in the hallway a few feet away from you, rather than entering. The sight of him makes your heart ache.

   His dark hair is a mess, as if he’s been running his fingers through it. His eyes are puffy and red, and his cheeks are still somewhat shiny from poorly-hidden tears. You watch as his adam’s apple bobs as he swallows thickly, then he sniffs once more. His shirt is more rumpled than usual, which he immediately starts trying to fix when he notices your stare.

   A person who truly meant something like what was said earlier wouldn’t look like this.

   You take a step and a half forward and slowly wrap your arms around his waist, and rest your face in the crook of his neck. He stays as still as stone with his arms to his sides until you’re done shifting. Then he brings his arms around your shoulders, just as slow and careful as you had with him, and softly rests his head on top of yours. You feel the tension leave his body as relaxes into your embrace.

   “ _I’m so sorry for earlier._ ” you breathe into his neck.

   He copies your hushed tone, “ _You aren’t the only one to blame. I should have never said that. Ever._ ”

   “ _We were both getting worked up and our yelling didn’t help-_ ”

   “No.” he interrupts sternly in the softest way. He gently pulls back and moves to hold you by your upper arms before he continues. “Yes, we were getting angry with each other, but that doesn’t make it okay at all for me to say something like that to you. Okay? I love you dearly, and I don’t regret marrying you at all. That day was one of the best days of my life. You understand, right?”

   Your voice is choked up with tears threatening to fall, “Of course I do. It’s the same for me. That’s why I went out to cool down and get some things. Because I love you too, and I want to fix things.”

   “What did you get?” Kyungsoo raises his volume to a normal indoor one as he runs his hands down your arms and lightly encases your hands with his own.

   You answer confidently, “Your favorite foods, and another toilet paper thing so we can both have our rolls and not fight about it anymore. And the two movies you love that I accidentally cracked when I sat on them a few months back-”

   It’s a good thing you bought nothing else, because Kyungsoo covers your lips with his in a sweet, chaste kiss, rendering it nearly impossible to continue talking without risking losing the precious moment. He pulls back too soon, but you’re rewarded with his bright smile, so you can’t be too upset about it.

   “You are literally the best right now. Thank you. I’ll try better in the future too.”

   “I love you.”

   “Love you too.”


	6. Nighttime Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yixing x Reader

You were sleeping peacefully in your bed after a long day yesterday. Your job had you working extra hours and you needed to pick up more groceries, meaning you didn’t return home until 1 in the morning. You had the next few days off just to relax and relieve stress while celebrating your anniversary with Yixing. That being said, you were not happy at all when something woke you up prematurely that same morning.

_Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting._

There it is again, the thing that kicked you out of the dream world; the sound of metal tapping on metal. You roll over with a groan to look at the clock sitting on your side table, the numbers 3:52 shining on the digital screen.

_Ting. Ting. Clang. Scrape. Ting._

Now who was causing such a ruckus in your apartment at this ungodly hour?

“Yixing?” you call out softly, only to be met with silence. You sit up and call his name out more urgently, “Yixing? Is that you?” There’s still no response, but there is more shuffling now that you’re alert enough to hear it.

You shuffle silently out of bed and make sure you’re at least decent enough to face a stranger. Upon hearing metal scraping on metal and some muffled murmuring, you look around for something to use as a makeshift weapon for self defense. You suddenly remember the foot-long, metal flashlight that sits in closet in case of a power outage and hastily grab it. You tip-toe over to the door and open it just enough to squeeze through, mentally thanking Yixing for greasing it the other day so it now swings silently. You carefully sneak down the hallway, knowing exactly where the floor creaks and how to avoid it from wandering around the apartment at midnight.

You get to the corner where the dark kitchen is and decide the culprit is in here. You then start preparing your weapon by turning it on and covering the blinding light with your hand. You pay close attention to the shuffling and occasional scraping in the next room to try to figure out where the person is. Once you decide it’s a good time, you jump into the room and uncover the light, allowing it to blind the man by the counter with a shout.

“What are you doing!?” you yell, but before you can continue your interrogation, a familiar voice pipes up in the room.

“Y/n! It’s me! Turn it off! Please!”

“Yixing?” you ask, voice laced with confusion and worry. “What are you doing? Why didn’t you answer when I called you? You scared me!” you question as you turn on the overhead light and walk over to Yixing to make sure you didn’t actually blind him.

“I had headphones on while I was making the cookies.” he replied, rubbing at his eyes.

**“It’s 4 o’clock in the morning, why are you making cookies?”**

“Tomorrow’s our anniversary, so I wanted to surprise you with your favorite treats when you woke up.” he looked down at you lovingly with a hint of guilt. You look past him and see the various metal utensils covered in cookie dough and the large bowl filled with it. You can’t help but smile.

“Do you want me to try and go back to sleep while do your thing in here, or do you want to snuggle in bed and eat that delicious-looking cookie dough?” you smirk at him.

“As much as I would love to do the latter, too much secret planning has gone into this. Besides, I already have a batch in the oven and something’s chilling in the freezer.” He smiled and kissed you lightly before turning around to check on the cookies in the oven.

“Alright then, Good night… again.” you softly chuckled.

“Good night, baobei. Sorry for waking you.” You hum a response, signaling you forgave him. You shuffle back in the bedroom, feeling the exhaustion rising in your system now that you know everything is safe. You slept wonderfully for the remainder of the night and part of the day.

The next time you wake up, it’s because of the smell of different foods. You get up and ready with a smile already permanently plastered on your face. You spend the remainder of that eventful day doing things with your dear Yixing and sharing the delicious foods he’s managed to make early that morning.


	7. Even Ghosts Ship it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yixing x Reader

   “Y/n!” you hear Yixing gleefully shout as you step out of the car.

   “Hello to you too!” beams you right back at him.

   He walks over from where he appeared at the front door and traps you in a quick, but tight hug, leaving you chuckling lightly. He’s always excited and happy when you’re around, according to your workmates, and seemingly even more so than usual today.

   Last week, he caught you right before you left work and invited you over to his place for dinner. He used the excuse that he’s offended that you haven’t tried his “famous spaghetti and meatballs” despite them being at the office party three weeks ago. He prides himself in knowing how to make them gluten free or vegan as well, even though he has admitted that it’s a bit more a challenge for him.

    “How have you been?” you ask, finally shutting your car door.

   “Pretty good!” He turns, keeping eye contact with you as he does so, and begins walking to his front porch. You follow. “I’ve been able to relax after work, which is a feat in itself. How about you?”

   “Plain old usual, as always.” a sigh escapes you.

   “Aw, that’s okay. Hopefully this dinner won’t be a bore or a hassle.” You open your mouth to assure him that  _no, this won’t be boring or bothersome_ , but he continues before you can. “Oh, I almost forgot!  **Before we walk in, I just want you to know that my house is haunted by a ghost or something. I called it Cliffe.**  He’s pretty chill, if not a prankster at most. Just be sure to hang on to your keys.”

   You can’t tell whether he’s joking or not, but he looks to be serious enough. He opens the door, and immediately calls out “I’m back!” despite the fact he lives alone. You play along with the joke, and call out “Hello, Cliffe!” as well, then casually change the subject as you both take your shoes off in the entryway.

   “Why do you own a three bedroom house when you live alone?”

   “Oh!” he cheerfully exclaims, putting his keys in a woven bowl. You follow his lead and do the same. “My grandparents bought this when they were younger, then when they moved out they passed the ownership on to my parents instead of going through the troubles of selling it to a stranger. Then my parents did the same thing for me, even though I’m not planning on having a family any time soon. I used to think about renovating the place, but Cliffe made it clear he doesn’t want that. So I haven’t.”

   “So you think this ‘Cliffe’ thing is real?” concern leaks into your tone. If Yixing notices, he doesn’t react to it.

   “Of course! Also, he isn’t a thing, he’s like a ghost or something, like I said earlier. And he’s probably the only reason I haven’t died from loneliness yet, but I guess that’s kind of an odd thing to say to a someone who doesn’t live here and doesn’t know what he’s like. I probably sound crazy, huh?” he gives a weak laugh.

   “Uh, kinda, yeah. But like you said, I don’t live here so…”

   Yixing laughs awkwardly some more, walking down a narrow hallway. He passes the living room, the door to the garage, and another hallway on your way to the dining room. This house definitely looks old enough to inhabit a ghost. The carpets are brown and are found everywhere everywhere except the dining room and kitchen, where white tiles with small flowers designs in the corners of each lay. The wallpaper is all white, with a strip at the top decorated with a similar floral design as the tiles and stretches throughout the house, or what you can see of it, anyway.

   The only thing separating the dining room, which consists of a small, wooden table and a display case for china dishes, from the kitchen is an island counter, with two stools lined up against it. You take a seat and watch as Yixing gracefully moves around the rather small kitchen, gathering ingredients and utensils. It’s nearing four o’clock, so you’re grateful he didn’t waste any time with starting the preparation of the food.

   You both make small talk, talking about your day and the new TV show that’s scheduled to start later this evening. It’s pleasant. He talks about how excited he is to see it, but suddenly goes silent and freezes. You can’t help the wave of concern that overtakes you in that moment.

   “What’s wrong?”

   Instead of answering, he simply yells out “Cliffe!”

   “What?”

   He ignores you. “Cliffe! Where’d you put my measuring cup?” There’s no anger in his voice, only genuine curiosity, as if this “ghost” was going to answer him.

   You glance around quickly, and find the measuring cup near the fridge, except he hasn’t gone near the fridge since grabbing ingredients, right? The measuring cup was one of the first things he pulled out and put by the stove.

   “There it is! Jeez.”

   You don’t know what to think anymore. Yixing is supposedly talking to air and blaming something on an invisible entity. You like to think that even  _he_  won’t take pranks this far. Although, you would have seen the object being moved, either of your would have, it was in both of your peripherals.

   Although, this is exactly what someone in a book or movie would say before being inevitably killed. Except Yixing doesn’t seem too concerned, and he did tell you that this Cliffe thing was “ _pretty chill_ ”, so you’ll just have to trust his judgement on that.

   “Sorry, sorry,” Yixing interrupts your thoughts, “I keep forgetting that shouting into an empty house is weird. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I don’t usually have people over so… I’m used to just doing it. Um, I know sound really crazy, but I swear-”

   “You said I wouldn’t understand since I don’t live here, but maybe you can help me understand?” you interrupt him.

   The sayings “ _When in Rome, do as the Romans do_ ”, and “ _If you can’t beat them, join them_ ” come to mind with your situation right now. If Yixing is determined to play this joke out, you’ll go along with it, for the sake of maybe being less annoyed my it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll have your own fun with it.

   “What kinds of things does he do? What’s he like?”

   Yixing seemingly has to double take, “Wait, seriously?”

   “I mean, yeah. You’re obviously used to him, and I hope to come back and hang out here again, so I might as well get used to it. To him.”

   Yixing stares at you with wide eyes, the definition of surprise and shock portrayed on his face. It takes him a couple of seconds, but he blinks and shakes the those emotions away. He looks at you again, more in questioning this time. You respond by urging him on silently with a small head tilt. He finally begins speaking again, and continues preparing the food.

   “Oh. Okay. Um, well, like I said earlier, he’s pretty chill. He’s not really anything more than just a minor inconvenience. He likes to moves small things around, like keys and earbuds and apparently measuring cups now. Stuff like that, he just moves them to a different spot when nobody notices. It always had my parents thinking they were just scatterbrained or something. But anyways, he doesn’t usually like lots of visitors, but one or two is usually fine. He’s apparently okay with you, since no light bulbs have gone out, neither has the electricity itself…” He lurches over and knocks on the wooden knife block. “Just to make sure I didn’t jinx it.” Another knock.

   “Didn’t you just undo the knock you already made?”

   “No, I made it so I didn’t jinx it when I said ‘So it wouldn’t be jinxed’ which would undo the knock before. Just to be extra safe.”

   Without even trying to untangle that on the fly, you simply respond with “Whatever you say.”

* * *

 

   The two of you are sitting down at the small, wooden table, gossiping about two of your coworkers who, despite being “happily single”, went into the storage closet earlier that week, and rushed out twenty minutes later empty handed. The closet was just cleaned, organized, and labeled the day before, so no one should have taken twenty minutes to figure out that something wasn’t present.

   “I’m telling you, it’s gotta be something!”

   “No, they could have been checking inside everything just to be sure it was gone. You know how funding is.”

   “Still! With two people, it  _still_  shouldn’t have taken that long to search the entire thing! Tom, Bethany, and Quiana  _just_  sorted through that hell of a room!”

   “Yeah, but they don’t seem to be the type to hook up.”

   “Is it because they have the whole ‘We’re single and proud!’ attitude? You now that’s all just an act right?”

    _Thud._

   You freeze, then quietly ask, “Did you hear that?”

   “The thud coming from the attic?”

   “You don’t sound very concerned. What if something important fell?”

   Yixing shrugs, “It was more likely Cliffe. He does that.”

   “And you’re completely fine with this?”

   “Yeah. Normally that would have happened hours ago with a guest over. He might actually like you.”

   “You think Cliffe likes me?” you ask incredulously.

   “Well, he hasn’t been as crazy like he usually would if he made his presence known to a guest, so he doesn’t dislike you. But he also is doing some things, so he doesn’t find you irrelevant either, so…”

   “What does he usually do with your other friends?” you ask skeptically.

   “During the few times they do come here, he usually moves their keys to a different spot, especially if they’re in the coat pocket that is hanging up. He likes to move it over to that weird window thing between the hallway and living room. Either there or right on the counter.”

   “Ah…”

   “Oh crap, what time is it?”

   “Why? What’s up?”

   “That one show comes on tonight at 8 and I figured you’d like to watch it with- Gosh dang it where is my phone…”

   “Last I saw it, it was on the bar.”  

   Except it isn’t on the bar when you look over to check.

   “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Help me look for it? I can’t trust the clocks in this place, they’re always fast or slow, no matter how many times a day I fix them.”

   “Sure.”

   Yixing stays in the kitchen and dining room, and you head off to check the living room and entryway. You trace your steps from earlier back to the front door, and find your keys sitting exactly where Yixing said Cliffe likes to move his friends’ keys, on the ledge of the window opening that looks into the living room from the front door entryway, even though you are positive you stuck them in the bowl with Yixing’s stuff. You swipe them on your way and shove them in your pocket for proper safekeeping. Cliffe seems more and more real as time goes by, and you’re not quite sure how to feel about that, yet.

   On one hand, there’s a large chance that Yixing isn’t crazy, which is always a bonus. On the other hand, he is crazy, because he could be voluntarily living with a ghost. What if this wasn’t actually a ghost, but a demon instead? What if he was just waiting for the most opportune moment to strike and create the base plot to yet another horror ghost/demonic movie.

   Yet, Yixing has lived here for all of his life, and nothing bad has happened to him, so far. That, and Yixing did say at the door that Cliffe was “chill”. You just need to remember those two things, and trust him.

   You look around a bit, and eventually find Yixing’s phone in the bowl by the door, along with everything else he dumped in there. You’re not quite surprised anymore.

   “Found it!”

   “Oh good! Where was it?” Yixing voice grows louder and clearer as he comes to meet you.

   “In the bowl with the keys. Here, it’s 7:32.”

   “Perfect. Did you want any snacks to munch on during the show? Or are you still full from dinner?” He turns toward the kitchen without waiting for your response.

   “Knowing me, I’ll probably want to munch on something in a bit, so let’s grab something so we don’t have to get up later.”

   “Works for me!” Yixing cheers.

   He digs through multiple cabinets, grabbing an assortment of candies and chips and placing the in his shirt, which he has lifted up into a makeshift basket. He nods his head toward the living room

* * *

 

   “That was really good! I’m glad I have it set to record at home! I’ll probably watch the episode again soon!”

   You stand up from the couch you were just huddled into and stretch, feeling your back pleasantly pop from your prolonged position on the couch. Yixing does the same, then turns to speak to you, but you hear someone call “Yixing” from a distance as he starts talking.

   “So, I was wonderi-”

   “Did someone call you?”

   “What? No?”

   “Oh. Nevermind, then.” You hesitate briefly before coming to a decision and continuing, “It must have been Cliffe, I guess. Anyway, what were you going to say?”

   There has been way too many things happening to be coincidences. The bowl, phone, and your keys. The clocks are always wrong (the same clock that was close to correct when you first entered the house was nearly ten minutes slow just before the show, and is now five minutes fast). The thumping from the attic became more frequent as time went on, and you even checked up there yourself just to be sure that nothing was up there. It was empty, save for some old furniture and such.

   Besides, there are crazier things you’ve done besides beginning to believe that there is some kind of tame ghost living in this house, you think.

   Yixing has a look of pleasant shock on his face, but quickly shakes it away before smiling almost shyly.

   “You don’t think I’m crazy…?”

   “Not anymore.” you smile teasingly, then continue in a more serious tone, “I’ve seen enough proof tonight, and if I know you well enough, I know that you wouldn’t take a prank this far and that you’re perfectly mentally stable. Besides, who am I to judge? Neither of you are hurting anyone, so why should I have a problem with this?”

   You return Yixing’s smile with a brighter one. His own smile brightens in relief as her shifts his eyes down toward his feet for a second, before moving them back up to meet yours.

   “I was gonna ask if you were interested in seeing the fireflies that should be out in the backyard by now. There’s usually a hundred or more of them out there.”

   “Really?” you ask, eyes widening in wonder. You haven’t seen fireflies since you were a kid.

   “Yeah. It’s really cool.” His calm smile reaches his kind eyes.

   “Then what are we waiting for? C’mon!”

   You take Yixing by the hand and lead him to the back door. On your way back, you catch a glimpse of a silhouette in the hallway in your peripheral vision, making you freeze instinctively. A quick squeeze from Yixing’s hand as he continues on walking tells you all you need to know. It was just Cliffe again, and there’s nothing to worry about.

   You make it to the backdoor and step out onto the very small porch, almost a large landing, really, and go down the three steps that lead to the grass. The same grass that’s lit with an uncountable amount of softly glowing lights in it, and more floating above it. The insects’ lights cast an enchanting greenish glow, gently lighting up the dew collecting on the grass and the leaves of the flowers of the garden. The crescent moon is already high, creating an barely noticeable silver shine on the tree tops at the edge of the yard. Accompanying the moon, is a partially cloudy sky, where dark clouds promising gentle rain tease of covering the clusters of stars visible through the light pollution.

   All in all, it looks like something straight out of a book or movie. It’s almost magical.

   “Wow…” Yixing breathes behind you, “It’s even prettier than usual tonight. The neighbors’ porch spotlight is usually on all the time, ruining the view.”

   You turn your head towards the man behind you. His eyes sparkle both literally and metaphorically because of the view, his smile bright in awe. His eyes meet yours, and his smile and eyes brighten just  _that_  much more.

   Something almost flutters in your chest at the sight.

   “Maybe Cliffe did it?” you offer the half-joke.

   Yixing exhales a gentle laugh at that, shaking his head. He then meets your eyes and takes a step closer to grab your hand, causing another slight flutter. He whispers to you excitedly as he walks past, leading you down the porch stairs.

   “We should catch some!”

   “Do you have a container, then?”

   “No, no. Putting them into a jar can hurt or kill them, or interrupt what they’re doing here, so I see how many I can catch in my hand before they fly away. I swear it’s just as fun though!”

   You scoop your hand down, effectively catching two that were hovering over the grass, then turn to Yixing, your smile never having left.

   “I believe you.” your smile grows, accepting his indirect challenge, “I bet a dollar I can beat you.”

   The laugh he releases only lightens your mood further. Before you can get too carried away with watching Yixing prance around like a child, you turn to scoop up more of the glowing bugs. You have a bet to win, after all.

   You spend the next hour catching as many fireflies as you can. In the end, Yixing wins the bet, beating you by six bugs. You blame it on his larger hands and the fact he’s more experienced at the game. He only laughs and leads you into the house by the hand to get bug bite ointment, since it was made apparent that fireflies weren’t the only insects around. As you walk up the steps to the back door, you try to think of any other time you’ve held hands with Yixing before tonight. You come up short.

   You step inside the kitchen, watching as the man in question searches his designated junk drawer for the tube of ointment. You catch sight of a stack of small note papers magnetically stuck onto the fridge. You read Yixing’s small handwriting, because if he didn’t want anyone reading it, why would it be out in the open on the fridge?

   ” _I like Y/n. She should definitely come over again. ;)”_

   You can’t help but chuckle at this, and that catches Yixing’s attention.

   “What are you laughing at? I’ve found it now you know!” he informs playfully, showing you the tube of “Anti-bite” in his hand.

   “Is this your way of inviting me back, Yixing? ‘Cause you could’ve just asked you know.”

   His eyebrows furrow, “Is what, what?”

   He places himself in front of the fridge and you watch as he reads and processes the little note. He only gets more confused.

   “That’s my handwriting, but I don’t remember ever writing that. I could’ve earlier and forgot, it seems like something I would do.”

   “Or something Cliffe would do?” offers you.

   He ponders the idea a moment before replying with “He’s never done that before, and this  _does_  look like something I would write…” he hesitates a moment, “Besides, we can’t blame everything on him.”

   “Whatever you say.” you tease.

   “And to answer your earlier question,” Yixing says more shyly, “Yes. I would love it if you came back again. I had more fun than I’ve had here in ages.”

   “I’ll be happy to come back again. I had a ton of fun too. Besides, I have to come back to beat you before the lightning bugs leave for the summer.” You grin.

   He’s still chuckling when he asks “Can I walk you to your car?”

   “Yea, of course you can.”

   You reach out and grasp Yixing’s hand.

   He smiles back at you - your smile from earlier still hasn’t left your face - and holds your hand more firmly as he leads you through his house to the front door. You put on your jacket and pull out your keys from your pants pocket, giving Yixing a thumbs up. He opens the door.

   You walk hand in hand to your car, then to to face each other when you make it to the driver’s side door.

   “I had fun tonight.” His eyes study your own, and you return it.

   “So you’ve said.” you tease, then continue genuinely, “I did too.”

   He pauses, glancing his eyes down and to the side quickly. “Are you free the same time next week?”

   “I should be, yeah.”

   “Good.”

    There’s a noticeable pause before you speak gently.

   “I’ll see you Monday at work?”

   “I’ll see you Monday.”

   He looks down as if contemplating something for a few moments. He apparently comes to a decision, because he looks you in the eye, pulls your hand up to his face, and presses a gentle, sweet kiss to the back of it. He stands up straight again, and lowers your hand and releases it.

   He turns to make his way around you, and as he does, you quickly kiss him on the cheek. He freezes and stiffens, and as you pull away he turns his head to you in pleasant surprise. You squeeze his wrist as you open the car door.

   “Have a good night.” you say, letting go of him and climbing in your car.

   As you turn on the car, you notice Yixing relaxed and staring at you with a smile.

   Yeah, you’re free this time next week.


	8. A Day with a Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yixing x Reader (?)

   It’s a beautiful day outside, despite it being a tad too warm for your preference. The sun is shining through a small clump of clouds, the wind is gently blowing, only enough to gently cool you and the people around you off, though. It’s the perfect day to go for a walk, which is exactly what you did. It’s a good thing you brought your wallet too, because when you were halfway home you realized that you have yet to buy a present for your best friend’s birthday. Therefore, instead of going all the way home just to immediately leave again, you simply turned around and went to the shops, which is where you find yourself now.

   You’re stopped in front of the window to a cute, little store, debating on whether or not the item you’re contemplating on buying is worth thirty-five dollars. The sidewalk isn’t empty, but it’s vacant enough to where you haven’t been in danger of angering someone being stopped in the middle of the walkway. You finally decide that  _no, it isn’t worth thirty-five dollars_ , and turn to move on to the next shop on the street-

     **”Pretend you know me.”  
**

   The masculine voice makes you jump and spin toward the speaker. Your eyebrows furrow in suspicion as you spend only a second taking in the man, who can’t be any older than you.

     **“I’m sorry?” **  
****

 **“Just do it.”**  he says, nearly pleading rather than threatening. You decide to buy into it a bit.

   “Fine.” you agree curtly, reluctantly, “I get an explanation after, though-”

   “Hey!” the stranger exclaims cheerfully over you, then takes a few steps closer, silently asking for a hug. “How have you been!” He gets the damn hug, which lasts half a second. “I haven’t seen you in forever! How’s the family?”

   “They still suck as always!” you cheer, hoping it comes out as a joke. Family is not a topic you want to discuss with anybody, let alone a stranger. He seems to pick up on that immediately. Smart move for him.

   “Damn… Sorry, dude. Are you doing any better?”

   You watch as his eyes flick to across the street, where you see three fit, tattooed men walking towards you in an alleyway when you subtly glance over. You suddenly have more faith that this isn’t some kind of prank or poor excuse of flirting tactic, and take this interaction a tad more seriously. This doesn’t mean you trust anything about this yet.

   “Yeah, just moved in to my new apartment last week, and before that… well, you know… So I’ve been too busy to hang out.”

   “Oh! You finally moved out! That’s great! How’s the new place?”

   His eyes flick over again. The men are talking amongst each other now, stopped right before the sidewalk on the other side of the road. You calm the smile on your face, hoping to make it seem less forced. Those men are starting to worry you now, and you just want to leave the area.

   “It’s pretty good actually! Do you have anywhere you need to be right now? I’m buying a present for the birthday girl if you want to tag along and catch up.” If getting him away from those men will get you an explanation faster, then so be it.

   Upon hearing your offer, his eyes widen and smile disappears from his face in utter shock, like you’ve just offered several pounds of gold rather than a (hopefully) subtle getaway. It’s almost amusing, and almost worrying at the same time.

   “Uh, no, I’m not doing anything. Are you sure you don’t mind me tagging along? You’re much closer to her than I am, and there’s a thing called phones…” Is he giving you a way out of your own offer?

   “It’s not like I’m making you buy a gift for her. Besides, we both know that we’ll forget to call.” You turn to continue your path from earlier, and catch a glimpse of the men as you do (who are still in the same spot, but no longer talking, only watching), turning your head just enough to see the stranger standing stock-still. “You coming?”

   “Yeah-” he gently shakes his head and visibly relaxes, “Yeah, I’m coming.” He smiles what appears to be a more genuine smile, one that you return with a less-genuine one.

   He takes a few quick steps to catch up as you begin walking, then falls in step with you. A quick look to the side shows that those men are following you, so you keep up the act that the stranger is obviously steadily dropping.

   “So I’ve been moving into an apartment, what’s your excuse for not calling?”

   He looks at you, confusion evident on his face. You answer his silent question by pointedly looking past him to where the men are, then raising your eyebrows slightly. The worry that invades his expression tell you he got the message loud and clear. He’s quick to replace his facade and come up with a forcedly casual answer.

   “Oh you know, just the usual. Going to clubs every night and working odd end jobs during the day so I can afford the alcohol I buy during the clubbing every night, and the admittedly low phone bill.”

   You don’t even know how to respond to that. Is there even a proper way to respond to that? There probably is, but you aren’t coming up with it right at this moment. You’ll know exactly what you should have said, though, later when you’re in your bed with nothing else to think about.

   For now, you decide to go with “What kind of jobs have you been working lately?”

   “Well, I’ve been doing a lot of yard work for older people recently. It’s been nice outside and a lot of people are either too lazy or want to go out and do something, like you.”

   “Oh, that’s neat. Have any interesting stories from all that  _exciting_  yard work?”

   Apparently he did, because his eyes light up just that tiny bit, and be begins telling you of how he accidentally bumped a Mourning Dove’s nest the day before and it wouldn’t stop attacking him until he left the yard completely, and when he tried to go back in, he found that he was locked out. Despite not knowing this guys name, you chuckled a few times throughout the brief but descriptive story.

   Your chuckling must have encouraged him, because without pausing he launches into another story of how one day a squirrel stole his bag of trail mix, the only thing he had to eat that day.

   “You only had a bag of trail mix for that entire day of working out in the heat?” asks you. You can’t help but worry for this guy’s unhealthy claim.

   “Well I had a bottle of water too that I always refill. You know I don’t eat much.”

   “You should. But it’s none of my business to tell you what to do.” you smile, hoping it takes away some of the harshness from your tone.

   He opens his mouth to respond, but you unintentionally interrupt him with a gasp before anything can be said. You rush to the next shop, where you see the perfect shirt for your friend. 

   “That shirt and some of the candy she likes that I get down the street would be perfect for her!” You turn towards your unexpected companion with a bright smile. “Come on, let’s go check it out!”

   You quickly make your way through the door with the stranger lagging behind you. You pick out the shirt you saw, plus two more, since there’s a buy two get one free deal for the shirts in the section you’re choosing from, then head toward the line in front of the cashier. You can almost sense the man right behind you, and wonder how close he is. You find that the answer is pretty close when he leans forward just a bit and is able to speak by your ear in a tone just above a whisper.

   “You’re actually buying birthday gifts for someone?”

   He seems genuinely interested, so you grace him with an answer that isn’t snarky.

   “Yes, I am.” you copy his tone and volume. “And now would be a good time to tell me your name and maybe a brief explanation of why you’re here.”

   He pauses and remains silent for long enough that you begin thinking that he won’t answer. You’re about to tell him off quickly, since you’re the next person in line, when he finally decides to speak up.

   “You can call me Lay, and those people hate me for something stupid I did, but don’t bother me when I’m in public or with someone else, because they’re more afraid of the cops than I am. That’s all you need to know.”

   The person in front of you is trying to pay cash with exact change, so it’s taking longer than usual, giving you time to ask “You’re into illegal stuff? And what kind of name is Lay?”

   “It’s a nickname that I came up with one drunk night and it just stuck, and not anymore. Never wanted to be associated with them in the first place.” He stands up straight and point out louder, “We’re up, finally.”

   You go up and pay for the shirts, exchanging rehearsed pleasantries with the cashier, who seems relatively happy with her job, surprisingly. You get your receipt, just in case the gift is a blow, and make your way to the door, holding it open for who you now know as Lay. You tell him your name as he walks by, because it feels like you should, and he turns to you surprised.

   “What?” you finally ask him after a few seconds of still silence.

   “You’re still gonna help me?” he whispers.

   “Well, it’s not like I lose anything if I do.” you answer lowly, noticing the same men across the street. You raise you voice to a normal tone, “I’ve got some more things to pick up if you still want to stick around, Lay, or do you want to bail while you still can?”

   “I’ll come along. Thanks for the offer, by the way.”

   “Of course. Any other stories you want to share while we walk?”

   And that’s what you did for the rest of the day. You walked around town, only stopping for the candy that will be a part of your friend’s present, and to get food for the two of you.

   “What to you want?”

   “Me?” Lay points to himself

   “No, the lizard in my shopping bag. Of course you! We’ve been out for a while and I’m starting to get hungry! I can’t imagine how starved you must be with your scarce diet.”

   “Eh. You get used to the hunger. I don’t need an-”

   “Choose something or I’ll choose for you. No choice here.”

   “Fine,” he sighs. He quickly scans the menu before muttering “A number seven with water.”

   As the day progresses, you notice that those three men haven’t been following you for a while, and that Lay is getting more comfortable around you, and vice versa. You walk through more shops, never actually buying anything, but always making fun of the stock. You walk through the only park nearby, where you tease him when you see a Mourning Dove flitting about in the trees. He playfully shoves your shoulder in response.

   The sun slowly starts dipping in the sky, and before the two of you know it, the sun is threatening to set behind the horizon. You’re surprisingly enjoying Lay’s company and possible friendship, so you ask if he wants to get dinner, if only to keep him out of Opal’s Paradice, one of his favorite places to spend his nights. That’s one of the many things you’ve learned about him today.

   “Um, no. I won’t keep you any longer. They’ve stopped following us hours ago, so you aren’t obligated to babysit me anymore-”

   “I don’t consider it babysitting in the slightest, and I don’t mind. Unless you do. Then in that case…”

   A beat of silence, with only cars and the wind, which has picked up as the day went on, interrupting it. Lay keeps his expression carefully blank the entire time, and continues to do so while he talks. Although, the hesitance and apprehension that lace his voice give him away.

   “You… don’t, mind? Hanging around me?”

   “No, not really.” You gather just enough courage to add, “You seem like a nice person under all of the self hate and punishment.”

   “Wha-”

   “Running from people and a past that you hate, no place to stay, clubbing all the time.  _Not eating_.”

   “I don’t need pity-”

   “I’m not sticking around out of pity. I said you seem nice under all of that, remember? I’m sticking around for that part. I’m not your mother or your closest friend, I don’t get to or want to tell you what to do and how to live your life. Hell, if it were up to me, family and friends wouldn’t be able to tell us that much either.” You immediately snap your jaw closed at that. You gave away too much, you should have stopped. None of that needed to be said. You open your mouth to take it back and apologize, but he speaks first.

   “Can you drive?” He sounds confident again.

   “…What?”

   “Can you drive? And do you have a car?”

   “Yeah… Why?”

   “You said you don’t mind putting up with me. Later tonight I’m probably gonna be shit-faced and not able to get back to a safer place, and I could use a designated driver for once.” He becomes a bit more timid as he continues, “That is, if you really don’t mind? I’m not forcing you into this or anything, don’t feel pressured to say yes. I’ve gotten by hundreds of times befo-”

   “Give me your phone.” you order playfully, holding out your palm. “You  _do_  have a phone, right?”

   “Of course I fucking do.” He hands over the device. “Kinda need this more than shelter these days.” He goes on to mumble something under his breath. Does he not have a place to live? He did say he needed to go to  _a safer_  place, and not  _his_  place. Plus, he hasn’t mentioned anything about using what little money he earns to pay any bills…

   You try and fail to resist asking, “Do you have a place to stay?”

   “Why?”

   “The streets aren’t safe during the day, let alone at night.” What are you doing? He’s still a stranger, and what did you just say about family and friends telling people what to do?

   “Yeah, I know. I’ve spent the past two years there. But I’m still alive…” he continues talking, but you unintentionally tone him out.

   Yet, you can’t  _not_  offer after that confession. You have an extra room at your place, which was originally going to be a small indoor garden, but let’s be honest, they were all going to somehow migrate to your living room at some point anyway. Either that or you’ll accidentally kill them. 

   “…kinda confusing me with the whole ‘I’m not staying out of pity’ then pulling this sh-”

   “I have an extra room if you ever get tired of staying out here, or are too drunk to walk. I know from experience that concrete is impossible to get comfy on, no matter how much dumpster fabric from Allie’s Crafts’ you pile on the ground.” You finally enter your phone number into his ancient phone and hand it back to the shocked-silent man. “How do you even pay for this thing?”

   He blinks a few times and shakes his head before answering.

   “Well, if you must know, there’s a mini store place in the Walmart a little ways away where you pick up a certificate or whatever, and you attach however much money to it and turn it back in and you get service for however long. It’s not the best, but it works enough for me.”

   “Huh. Well, call me if you need a ride, and I’ll drop you off where you need to go. Unless you can barely walk, in which I will lock you in my spare room so you don’t kill yourself or someone else one way or another. Then I can bring you to where you need to go the next morning. Sound acceptable enough for you?”

   He doesn’t respond at all, only stares at you blankly for a while. He’s still staring at you when you address him.

   “Hello?” you tease with a smirk, “Anyone in there? Has Lay already left to the bar?”

   “…Thanks. For everything today and all the offers and stuff. Nobody’s- I just- Yeah. Just, thanks. I’ll definitely call at some point, for one reason or another.” He chuckles weakly and rubs the back of his neck, looking down and to the side.

   “You’re welcome. I’ll see you around?”

   He meets your eyes with a small smile.

   “Yeah. See ya around, Y/n.”

   And you go your separate ways, for now.


	9. Food Fight and Snuggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tao x Reader

You and Tao have spent the entire day lounging on the couch, eating snacks, and watching movies. When this first started you sat on your respectable sides, with the snacks and drinks in the middle for easy access, although now you were snuggled up together and the food and any wrappers or bottles from them were in every direction you looked. You reach up to the back of the couch where the stash of your favorite cookies are kept, realizing only after you gave up feeling around and sat up to look at the plate that there was none left. With a groan you plop yourself back into Tao’s side, who grunts irritatedly at the sudden pressure.

“We need more snacks” you whine, “Can you get some more? For us?”

“And why can’t you do it? You were the one who discovered we were out.” he playfully scolded, shifting just enough to get you off of him.

  
“You helped me eat all of this!” you argue using the same playful tone he did, “Plus I’m too lazy, and you’re fit, so it should be easy for you.” you gently slap his arm for effect.

“All the more reason you should get up and do it.”

You give an exaggerated gasp and put your hand over your heart, “Are you calling me unfit?”

“No!-”

“You should get the stuff just for suggesting that!” you teased. In return, he gave a very loud and high-pitched breath. 

You took a moment to process this before asking,  **“Did you just hiss at me?”**

“So what if I did. You go get the food. I’m full anyways.” he asks, getting a bit irritated at this point.

“Oh, it’s on now.” is all you said with a huge grin before you pounced on him. He immediately rolled off the couch from the force you pushed him at. Tao then shoved you off playfully whilst chuckling lowly with a grin. You grabbed the nearest item to you, which happened to be a handful of candy wrappers, and threw them at him. This marked the beginning of the food and wrapper war. 

He grabbed a handful of wrappers himself and chucked it at you, some bits getting stuck in your hair and on your shirt. You stifled laughed as you took a soft pastry like treat and tossed it at him, but he dodged it with ease considering your aim was not the best while trying to not laugh. He took the glob of the sugary food and tossed it towards you, getting on your pants. You didn’t mind a bit, though, this outfit was already stained with paint from when you redid the living room walls. You grabbed the last one of that specific treat then lunged forward to smear it on his old and “well used” shirt. 

By this point you were both laughing at your childish behavior. He reached up and grabbed an empty bottle and tapped your head with it, which you jumped back and grabbed your own bottle in response. This time, he made the first move has he took a step forward to hit your bottle in a mock sword fight; a move he happily let you block. The two of you took turns in who would strike next, jumping around the living room in attempts to dodge the harmless and rather gentle blows. You spent the next twenty minutes acting out a war using the various trash and occasional food before you plopped yourself back on the couch. In a silent agreement that the war was over, he took a few steps to slump down next to you, when you remembered why this started in the first place.

“Wait, while you’re up,” you rushed out. He paused, waiting for you to finish the thought. You took the invitation and continued slower with the best puppy eyes and smile you could make, “Get those cookies for us to share out of the kitchen?” His only response was a loud groan, to which you pouted, keeping the puppy eyes. He took one look at you and groaned again, rolling his head back, then he lifted it sharply and playfully glared at you.

“Fine, but only because that means I get first choice on which ones I want.” He started off to the kitchen. 

Now you’re kind of wishing you just went to get them yourself, he’s going to have all the best ones to himself now. Your thoughts were interrupted by a perfect cookie being shoved in your mouth, which you gratefully accepted. The handsome Tao appeared from the side and put an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. After another movie or two, both of you fell asleep in each other’s embrace.


	10. Late Night Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baekhyun x Reader

   You’re standing in front of a mirror, fixing your hair for your date with Baekhyun. You have no clue where he’s taking you or what could possibly happen, but knowing him, it should be quite entertaining. He told you to dress casual and wear walking shoes, so you doubt you’re going on the stereotypical movie and dinner this time. You’ve asked him time and time again what exactly you’ll be doing, but he never gave a straight answer.

   A knock at your front door is what pulls you away from the mirror. You open it to reveal exactly who you were expecting, Baekhyun, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. His hair isn’t nearly as styled as yours, and, despite your casual attire, he makes you feel a tad overdressed. His smile is as large and bright as the sun, as cheesy as the comparison is, and he’s seems to be full of energy just like it too.

    **”Wazzup my Homie? Ya boi’s finally here and ready to roll. Lez go, dog!”**  He cheers, already turning back to his small truck. If there was any chance for one of those sweet or sentimental moments to happen, he just ruined it with that.

     **“Why are you like this?”**  you ask with a chuckle, shutting and locking your door after grabbing your bag. More women’s clothes really need bigger pockets.

   “The question is, why  _wouldn’t_  I be like this?” He opens the passenger door for you, then bows dramatically while he speaks in a posh accent, “Here you are, Madam.”

   You decide to play along. “Thank you, kind sir,” you answer in an equally horrible posh accent with a small bow of your own.

   You take the hand Baekhyun offers you and let him help you climb into the truck. He slams the door ungracefully once you’re settled in your seat, then climbs into the drivers side.

   “Where are we off to? Will you tell me now?” you ask as he starts the truck and begins driving away.

   “Nope! Still a secret! You’ll have to wait and see.” He places his hand on your knee and gives a gentle squeeze as he says this, replacing it back on the steering wheel to complete a turn.

   You sigh. You trust that he knows what he’s doing, but the suspense of not knowing what tonight holds has been getting to you. You just want to know!

   After you no longer know where you’re heading, and get bored of looking out the window, you pull out your phone and scroll through various social medias you have and play a few apps. You occasionally look up and out the window to see if you somehow recognize the new scenery, but you never do. Although, that doesn’t keep you from trying still. Baekhyun’s voice distracts you from your game, causing your to mistap and lose the level.

   “We’re nearly there now! I would start getting your stuff together.”

   You look out the window and see a forest beyond a tall, chain link fence. The sun has pretty much set by now, the sky a mixture of orange and pink disappearing into trees in front of you, then dark blues disappearing behind you. You already see some stars creeping into the dark of the sky, which is an unusual sight at this time of evening. You’re used to the light pollution from the city erasing them from sight, even in the dead of night. You put your phone in your bag for safe keeping, and turn your attention back to the window just in time for Baekhyun to park the car at the road’s end, next to the fence.

   You both get out, and he moves to the back of the truck to grab two bags, then leads you to a spot on the fence where the wire rusted away from the pole, allowing Baekhyun to pull the section up and duck under, pushing the bags in front of him. You make a quick note of the sign that clearly says “Private Property” off to the side, and suddenly get anxious.

    **“Is this illegal?”**

   He hesitates a moment before answering, which does not help your nerves.

    **“Probably not.”**

   “What do you mean ‘ _probably not_?”

   “I mean,” he says, no annoyance inflected in his tone, “that the sign says “Private Property’, but no one lives here right now. It hasn’t been resold yet. So I don’t think we can get in trouble for being here tonight. Do you trust me?” he finishes gently, holding his hand out for you to take. It’s just like every cheesy, romance film, and you can’t stop the smile and shake of your head as you take it.

   “Yeah, I trust you.”

   You duck under the fence, then offer to take one of the bags from Baekhyun. He refuses your offer, saying that you could find a way to guess what’s inside if he allowed you to hold it. You shrug and nod in understanding, even though you already have a pretty good guess of what could be found inside.

   You walk through the forest beside him, carefully leading him away from any fallen branches or thorny vines that tend to grow and hide on the forest floor, partially hidden by browned leaves. No one speaks, the only things breaking the silence are the sounds of nocturnal animals going through their nightly routines, and the wind gently brushing against the leaves. After some amount of time of walking, you spot some sort of clearing on the woods, and your partner must have been looking for it, because he almost immediately turns to walk toward it.

   Once you reach the small clearing, Baekhyun gives you the smaller but heavier of the two bags to hold while he digs through the other one. You watch as he pulls out a large blanket, then a smaller, nicer one, and two small pillows, and lays them out, the two pillows and nicer blanket all next to each other on the larger one. He then takes the bag you’ve been given and orders you in hushed tones to find something to hold the corners down, just in case the wind picks up. You go and do exactly that. By the time you get back, he has your favourite kind of sandwich, fruit, and veggies, along with a small cake of both of your favorite flavor, and has drinks laid out on the blanket.

   You place the chunks of branches you found at each corner of the blanket, then place yourself on it. Baekhyun removes your shoes, and places them next to his off to the side. He slowly lowers himself down, so he’s laying on his back, looking towards the sky. You follow his lead, and find one of the prettiest sights you’ve seen in a while.

   The sky is painted with a dark blue backdrop, with stars filling every inch of what you can see. The dark blue seemingly swirls into a lighter version of itself in a section of the view, effectively creating a sight to behold. You’re used to the city lights polluting the night sky, leaving only a black mass and exactly 13 stars and, according to your neighbor, the planet Venus, which rides low in the sky just after sunset. You wish your phone camera could capture the beauty of what you see now, but seeing as you can’t, you instead take as much time as possible to submit it to memory.

   Baekhyun breaks the lengthy, but comfortable silence.

   “Was this worth the drive and suspense? What do you think?”

   “It definitely is!  **It’s so pretty!** ”

    **”Yea, you are.”**    

   Knowing full well what you’re going to find, you look over to Baekhyun and find him looking right at you with a lovestruck expression on his face. Even though this is exactly like the cheesy moments in books and movies, you can’t stop yourself from blushing under his open stare. He breaks away from your gaze to sit up and grab you a triangle of a sandwich, then leans over to feed it to you. You bite into it without complaint and take the rest of the small sandwich, finishing it off in two more bites.

   “That was the cheesiest thing you have ever done.”

   “Yea, it probably was. Was that bad?” he asks genuinely.

   “Nah, as long as it doesn’t become a regular thing.” you smile back.

   “Oh, come one. You love the cheesiness!”

   “In healthy doses, maybe! But no one likes too much cheese!”

   “I beg to differ!”

   This is how the rest of your night went. Just simple, easy-going banter and eating food, feeding to each other when you aren’t eating it yourselves. After a while, the talking and joking around slowed and turned to comfortable silence and cuddling under the stars. Around one in the morning is when the two of you finally begin packing up, which is much easier this time than the first, Baekhyun informs you, and driving home. You invite Baekhyun to stay at your place to crash for the night when he drops you off, since he’s been driving for hours and he seems like he could fall asleep at the wheel at any moment. He accepts, and crashes happily on the couch, despite you telling him that you have no problem sharing a bed. Now, as you lay in bed, ready to sleep, you just hope that Baekhyun isn’t a morning person.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me and Nunchi on Tumblr too [@nunchiwrites](https://nunchiwrites.tumblr.com)!!


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